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The end is now in sight for gas-powered vehicles in much of the world.

So ends the article. It may be true. In which case, only later it will become clear that the real end of this change is to bring all vehicles 100% into the digitally controlled surveillance realm, so as to make sure that at no time ever a human life is lived outside the matrix. Hopefully hackers will make it more interesting.

It’s hard to see it any other way. In addition to the hackers, I’d say oil and gas interests will serve as a barrier for a while as well.

In fact, I’d venture to guess that (as difficult as it is for me to imagine) “self driving cars” will be imposed before 100% electric cars are. But I could very well be wrong about that.

There are numerous legal and logistical issues to both seemingly inevitable realities.

But nothing that a couple of trillion dollars in “defense spending” and a decade (or so) can’t make possible.

SacredCowSlayer » September 24th, 2018, 3:00 pmIn fact, I’d venture to guess that (as difficult as it is for me to imagine) “self driving cars” will be imposed before 100% electric cars are. But I could very well be wrong about that.

There are numerous legal and logistical issues to both seemingly inevitable realities.

But nothing that a couple of trillion dollars in “defense spending” and a decade (or so) can’t make possible.

I think you are correct. They will push the cost on this "progress" on the sheeply taxpayers thus shearing them of another couple of trillion to make it all a reality. A reality that the sheep saw in Holy-Wood movies.

Another "push down" will be chipping. In Europe they have rolled out a law that makes going to a clinic and adventure. Due to data protection concerns a patient can not be called out by their name !!! Now lets move that forward, putting a chip in everyone will make sure all the sheep's data will be secure and there will be no need to call anyone. You will simply get a shock telling you to do something.

Mandating self-driving cars will be incredibly easy. All it will take is some speeding human driver to kill a young girl, and that will be it for people controlling the cars.

It can be done in stages too. An easy first stage is with computer control limiting speed to the legal speed limit in each section of road. Next is mandating technology to make it so the vehicles can't rear end, or go into the wrong lane, or into the bike lanes and onto sidewalks.

The road network is also more powerful if all the cars have sensors & cameras on them reporting to the network. For example hazardous things like slick roads the cars can warn each other. Another interesting one is imagine a dog running towards the road after a ball. But trees blocking the view of incoming cars. Yet cars beyond the trees can see the dog running towards the road with their rear view cameras. With the network they can communicate with the incoming cars. And with computer control of the cars, the cars can be slowed down to a safe speed to avoid an accident.

There are other even more futuristic ideas. Like there is no real need for stoplights with automated cars. In fact there isn't even a reason to slow down going into intersections as the computer can time them like a mesh of cars. Another thing is right now cars also cannot drive very close to each other, because human reaction speed is only so fast, and you never know what the person in front of you will do. (although many people still drive very close and get in constant rear end accidents). But with computer control cars can be spaced much tighter than now allowing vastly higher road utilization and throughput.

Here is the thing with monitoring where you are going. The state already knows exactly where 99% of the population is, and the exact paths they have taken over the last few years.. from the cell phone GPS system.

aa5 » October 5th, 2018, 8:36 pm wrote:There are other even more futuristic ideas. Like there is no real need for stoplights with automated cars. In fact there isn't even a reason to slow down going into intersections as the computer can time them like a mesh of cars.

This reminded my of something I saw years ago that I found intriguing. It's actually a pretty cool concept, but I agree that like all good things, it will ultimately be used to control us:

Perhaps you’ve heard of Hans Monderman. I hadn’t until recently. With a name like that, I imagined he was a cheese Danish or the guy who invented the spin cycle on Maytag washers. Instead, Monderman (1945–2008) was a traffic engineer in the Netherlands, where he offered to help speed the flow of traffic—as much as 22,000 cars daily through some intersections—in a town in Holland called Drachten. In response, Monderman apparently dialed his brain to its own spin cycle, because he ripped down every single traffic signal in the city.

Not only did he dismantle the signals, he also binned the speed-limit signs, no-parking signs, curbs, speed bumps, warning signs, railings, and directional lines painted on the asphalt. What he wanted were wide-open intersections—so-called “shared spaces”—and he wanted them to be a little intimidating, a little ambiguous. Drivers had to ask, “What, exactly, am I supposed to do here?”

Monderman’s idea was that motorists would take cues from observing other motorists. He wanted them to make eye contact and negotiate rights of way among themselves. His assumption was that when people feel insecure, they’re more attentive, patient, and alert—a voluntary behavioral change. It sounds like a recipe for Lusitania-quality catastrophe, with random C/D editors using the clear intersections as skidpads. (We would.) Instead, the intersections promoted a more efficient flow of cars, buses spent less time waiting, startup times were slashed, and accidents both declined and were less severe.